Leeds United to seal deal with Kisnorbo

Patrick Kisnorbo.

Phil Hay

Leeds United are set to offer Patrick Kisnorbo a short-term deal and give the defender a fair opportunity to earn another long-term contract at Elland Road.

Manager Simon Grayson revealed today that he expects to keep his out-of-contract centre-back at Leeds next term, but the club will delay any serious offer until they have assessed Kisnorbo’s fitness in pre-season training.

Kisnorbo – United’s player of the year in 2010 – could make his first appearance for 13 months against Queens Park Rangers tomorrow, completing his painstaking recovery from the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in March of last year.

The Australian international is close to the end of his two-year deal at Leeds and could become a free agent at the start of July, but Grayson intends for Kisnorbo to be part of his squad in pre-season and hopes to be able to offer more substantial terms with a clear summer behind him.

Grayson said: “He’ll have all of pre-season with us and we’ll have things in place to make sure there’s a contract ready for him.

“He wants to stay, I want to keep him here, but as a football club we’ve got to make sure we cover ourselves. There’s no point in giving Paddy a two, three or five-year contract without him proving that he’s 100 per cent fit.

“He understands that and he’ll have five or six weeks in pre-season to get match-fit. I would think that (Leeds will offer him a short-term deal) to cover our backs and his back. He only needs to prove his fitness.”